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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — hurry
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ground — a position
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ground — the earth
  17. row — a line
  18. ground — crushed
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. race — a contest
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com